


The Start of Something New

by Ellsey



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU August 2020, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26227063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellsey/pseuds/Ellsey
Summary: Daisy, Daniel, Jemma, and Fitz are the best of friends, but everything's about to change. Before they part ways though, they are going on to enjoy one adventure together.4 Friends4 Changing Lives1 Epic Road Trip
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 64
Kudos: 104
Collections: AOS AU August 2020





	1. Jemma

**Author's Note:**

> AU August Day 24 was road trip au, and I kind of got carried away.

“Ok kids, everyone have all their stuff packed? Got their snacks? All buckled in?”

“Yes mom,” came a saucy voice from the back seat.

Jemma laughed. “At least I refrained from asking if you needed to use the toilet before we left. Is my navigator ready?” 

Fitz was sitting in the front beside her. “Yes, yes, I’ve got the directions pulled up and ready.”

“Perfect. Well, I guess we’re off.”

This was the start to one epic road trip for Jemma and her three friends. They had all recently graduated university (or in Daniel’s case, law school) and were about to go off and start new lives. Before that though, they had gotten the gift of a trip from their parents. One last chance to spend time together before everything changed.

The first day they were driving from Boston, Massachusetts, to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where they would stop for the night. Then the next day it was off to Orlando, Florida, and all the fun that could be had there. They had all agreed to share in the driving, and Jemma had taken the first shift.

Jemma felt that she had the easiest shift to drive for. After all they were all still fresh and enthusiastic. The navigator was allowed to pick the music, so Fitz was bopping his head to his favorite tunes. Daisy and Daniel were playing some kind of travel game in the back seat, punctuated by frequent bouts of laughter. Jemma was going to miss this.

She had been friends with Fitz for a long time. They had met in school and had been virtually inseparable ever since. When Fitz had suggested that they attend university in the US, she had balked at the idea, but it turned out to be one of his better ideas. It was there that they met Daisy who at some point met Daniel and began dragging him around with them. They were a fun group, and Jemma considered herself very lucky to have 3 such great friends.

That was all about to change. Fitz and she were going to graduate school in California, Daniel was going to clerk for some judge in DC, and Daisy was staying back in Boston where she had gotten a job. Jemma repressed a little sigh. She knew things couldn’t stay the same forever, but that didn’t make these transitions any easier.

Halfway to Fredericksburg, Fitz switched places with her. By this point Daisy had dozed off on Daniel’s shoulder in the back seat while he read a book. 

“Daisy looks very cozy back there,” she said to Daniel.

“Oh, you know her, she’s just saving her energy for later.” He looked at her face resting on him and smiled. Jemma was almost positive that Daniel had a crush on Daisy. The way he always looked at her gave him away. Daisy’s feelings were a little less obvious, although Jemma had a sneaking suspicion that Daisy felt the same way. If only she could get them to admit it.

“How you holding up Fitz?” she asked the man now driving.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Just concentrating on the task at hand.”

“Of course you are,” Jemma soothed. She watched his profile for a while as they drove. It was a nice profile. She was lucky to have him.

“What are you thinking?” Fitz asked.

“Oh, nothing important,” Jemma said.

Fitz made a face. “You were staring quite intently.”

“I was just thinking how nice your profile is.” Jemma knew this would embarrass him, and she was correct. She could see the flush rising up his face.

“What nonsense,” was all he said in response.

They stayed in a fairly cheap motel for the night, then continued on their way to Orlando bright and early the next morning. 

This time Daisy and Daniel took turns driving, so Jemma and Fitz got to break out the car games in the back seat. Jemma proved to be very adept at sinking Fitz’s battleship, much to Daisy’s delight.

“I swear she can read your mind Fitz. She knows where it is every time.”

Fitz scowled. “She’s just a lucky guesser.”

Jemma swatted at him. “Don’t be a sore loser.”

“I’m not. You just have an unfair advantage.”

“How’s that?” Jemma asked, confused.

Fitz waved a hand. “You easily distract me. I don’t make my best choices.”

“How do I distract you?”

Jemma could see that Fitz was blushing slightly. “You just do, ok?”

Daisy was in the front passenger seat raising her eyebrows in a way that suggested she was not going to let that go, so Jemma stepped in.

“Snack Daisy?”

Daisy gave her a look that suggested she knew exactly what Jemma was doing, but she went along with it anyway. “Sure, give me something salty.”

At some point Jemma fell asleep and woke up to find that both Fitz and she were leaning on each other. In fact, Jemma wasn’t even sure she could sit up as she was kind of trapped under Fitz’s head. Her slight movement woke him up though, and he blinked sleepily at her. 

“Hey there,” she quietly said.

Fitz looked at her with a look on his face that Jemma couldn’t quite place. “Hi.”

“Hope you two had a nice nap because we’re almost there,” Daisy said from the driver’s seat. 

“Hey, when did you switch?” Fitz asked.

“A while ago,” Daniel told them. “You two looked very peaceful so we didn’t wake you up.”

“Well I wish you had,” Fitz grumbled. “I have a stiff neck now.”

“At least you weren’t the one buried under your head,” Jemma said. 

Fitz mumbled something in response, and Daisy and Daniel just glanced at each other and laughed. Honestly, they were all impossible.

Their hotel for the next week wasn’t the best, but it wasn’t the cheapest either. It had two beds and a small kitchenette. Jemma was relieved to finally be out of the car and stretching her legs. 

Daniel and Fitz were selected to pick up dinner for everyone, so Jemma and Daisy spent some time organizing their room. 

“So you two looked pretty cozy back there,” Daisy said.

“I could say the same for you and Daniel,” Jemma said.

Daisy rolled her eyes. “Don’t try to change the subject. What’s going on with you two?”

“Daisy, how long have you known us?”

“Ummm, like four years I guess?” Daisy said. “And I’m pretty sure you two have been crushing on each other the entire time.”

Jemma shook her head. “I don’t think so. We are best friends. That’s all. I mean, I even had a boyfriend during this time you knew me.”

Daisy waved her hand dismissively. “Milton doesn’t count for...well, anything. Abnormal data point.”

Jemma was saved from having to answer as the boys entered the room. There was something that was bothering her about this conversation with Daisy, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. 

All that was forgotten as Jemma explained the plan for the next week. “I have made a schedule that will allow us to get the most out of three days at Disneyworld and two at Universal.”

“Let me guess, you made itineraries,” Daisy said.

“Of course I made itineraries Daisy, how else would you know what to do?”

“Are they color coded?” Daniel asked. “I really feel like that would be important.”

“As a matter of fact, they are, thank you for asking Daniel, even though I know you were just being sarcastic,” Jemma said.

Fitz, Daniel, and Daisy all snickered at this, but they accepted her printed schedules without saying anything else. The truth was Jemma knew they likely wouldn’t follow her schedules, but it had been too much fun planning things to not do it. 

They got an early start the next morning, with varying amounts of enthusiasm. Jemma got up to get ready for the day and saw Fitz dragging. He wasn’t much of a morning person, but that was nothing compared to Daisy. She didn’t even want to get up, and it wasn’t until Daniel bounced on the bed saying, “Wake up sunshine!” that she finally got up. 

Being at Disneyworld with her three friends was even more fun that she had thought it might be. They spent the first day at Epcot “touring the world” as Daisy called it. Fitz was most excited when he found out Jemma had made them reservations at the Rose & Crown, where they could stuff themselves with food from back home. Daisy and Daniel seemed less impressed.

They spent two more days at the park, ending with a glorious day at the Magic Kingdom. Jemma had actually left part of this last day free in the schedule (which they had been following...mostly), and Fitz decided he needed another ride on Splash Mountain.

“Is that alright with you two?” Jemma asked Daisy and Daniel.

“How’s the leg holding up?” Daisy said to Daniel. 

“It’s ok.” He didn’t look sure about his answer.

Daisy peered into his face then looked around. “Hey, I’m starving, so why don’t we go eat some food and take a load off for a bit? You can be my chaperone and make sure I don’t get into too much trouble.”

Daniel nodded. “Sure, sounds good.”

“Great!” Daisy turned to Jemma and Fitz. “Go have fun you two. Don’t you get into any trouble either.”

Fitz just rolled his eyes, and they went to get in line. The wait wasn’t too bad, and soon they found themselves on the ride. They didn’t manage to stay out of trouble though. Soon Jemma’s feet started to feel really wet. 

“Fitz, is it me or is this boat filling up with water?”

He looked down at their feet then back up at Jemma with wide eyes. “I think you’re correct.”

“What do we do?” Jemma asked. Things were just getting worse.

Fitz looked around wildly. “I think we just get out.”

“Right here? Where those animals are very aggressively dancing?”

“Well, would you rather sink or deal with some questionable animatronics?”

Jemma faced the weirdest choice of her life. “Get out I guess?”

Fitz quickly jumped out and held out his hand for Jemma. He helped her up to the side right next to the dancing animals. They were kind of creepy, especially up close. Jemma shuddered involuntarily. Fitz must have noticed because he put his arm in front of her as if to shield her.

“You stay away from my Jemma, you creep,” Fitz said to the animatronic next to them.

Jemma stared at him. He was protecting her. From an animated animal. He had said “my Jemma.” She felt as if she had been struck by lightning as she had a mammoth realization.

She was in love with Fitz.

A worker soon came and escorted them off the ride to safety. They quickly went to find Daisy and Daniel who listened to their tale of peril with open mouths.

“That is so wild,” Daisy said. Daniel nodded in agreement. 

Jemma had more important things on her mind. “Daisy, I need to visit the loo. Care to join me?”

Daisy looked very confused, but she simply said, “Sure.” 

As they entered the restroom, Jemma pulled Daisy to one side. “Daisy, I’m in love with Fitz.”

Daisy looked excited. “I knew it!”

“Yes, yes you can gloat later. But what do I do? How do I handle this?”

“Just tell him,” said Daisy with a shrug. “He’s obviously into you.”

“You don’t know that,” Jemma siad. “And I can’t risk our friendship.”

Daisy tilted her head to one side. “Jemma, what if you’re risking losing something even better than your friendship?”

“Daisy...I can’t...I just can’t lose Fitz.”

“Jemma, do you trust me?” Daisy asked.

“Maybe?” Jemma said.

“I know that Fitz is in love with you too. Just leave it to me and you’ll be together before this trip is over.”

Jemma shook her head. “Daisy I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I won’t do anything to hurt your friendship, ok?” Daisy responded. “I’m just going to give Fitz some gentle nudges. If he doesn’t love you too, then it won’t matter.”

“I’m not sure about this,” Jemma said.

Daisy gave her a big hug. “Trust me. It’s going to be great”


	2. Fitz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Fitz's turn to talk about their trip

Fitz was exhausted. They had already spent 3 days at Disneyworld, and now they were headed to Universal Studios. Daisy had been pretty insistent that if they were going to Orlando, they were going to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

This trip has been mostly set up by Jemma and Daisy naturally. Fitz really hadn’t been that excited about so much time in a car, but Jemma had looked at him in that way that made him want to do whatever she said. So he agreed to come, and so far it hadn’t been too bad. Sure, he’d had to share a bed with Daniel Sousa, but it wasn’t too bad. Daniel was alright. He was also super in love with Daisy, but Fitz wasn’t going to get involved in that. That was between those two.

The highlight of the trip so far had been waking up to find Jemma’s head resting on his. He knew he probably shouldn’t think this way, but it was like an amazing dream he didn’t want to wake from.

Daisy was ecstatic the minute they entered the Harry Potter themed park, and she grabbed Daniel’s hand to tug him from place to place. Fitz wanted to laugh.

“Look at those two, eh?” he said, nudging Jemma with his elbow.

“What?” She looked surprised that he had asked her something.

“Daisy and Daniel,” Fitz responded, pointing at the two. “Although I think this is mostly Daisy being super excited and Daniel going along with whatever she wants. As usual.”

“Maybe,” Jemma said.

Fitz looked at her. She seemed distracted. Actually, she hadn’t quite seemed herself since the disaster on Splash Mountain. He couldn’t quite figure out why though. She had seemed creeped out by the ride animatronics, but that made sense. They  _ were _ creepy. He had tried to shield her from the worst, but there wasn’t really much he could do. Since then though, Jemma had seemed a bit withdrawn. 

He wondered if he should ask her, but he decided against it. He knew his best friend well enough to know that she might not appreciate the question. 

Jemma began to come out of her shell a bit as the day went on. She got very excited when Daisy declared that they were all getting the perfect wand, but they couldn’t pick for themselves. Daisy would pick for Fitz, Fitz would pick for Jemma, Jemma would pick for Daniel, and Daniel would pick for Daisy. 

Daisy was very particular, and scrutinized Fitz and the wands before picking what she considered the perfect wand. Fitz decided he would make this fun for Jemma as well. He walked slowly around her as if he were sizing her up. He couldn’t help but admire her. She really was beautiful.

He made a great show of picking a wand out for her and was rewarded with Jemma’s laughter. It really  _ was _ the perfect wand he supposed.

Jemma seemed to know exactly what wand she wanted to give Daniel, which didn’t surprise Fitz at all. Jemma was always prepared.

Daniel looked as if he were sizing up Daisy, then covered her eyes with one hand while he handed her a wand in the other. She pulled away his hand from her eyes then laughed in delight at the wand in her hand. Fitz noticed that Daisy was slow to let go of Daniel’s hand, and he started to wonder if maybe Daisy might be interested in Daniel as well. 

The next day started off better, with Jemma seeming to be much more interested in what they were doing. Fitz was relieved at the change in attitude. He hated to think something was wrong with Jemma.

Then they spent a very long day driving to Outer Banks, North Carolina. This part of the trip had been Fitz’s idea. The idea of just spending some time with his friends enjoying the wind and waves sounded perfect to him. They had lucked out by finding a small motel that was just a short walk from the beach. Quite frankly, Fitz thought it looked perfect.

Daisy drug Daniel off to a small grocery store to buy some supplies, which left Fitz and Jemma alone. Fitz felt a strange tension in the room. It was starting to bother him. This wasn’t how he wanted things to feel between Jemma and him, and it definitely wasn’t how he had wanted to spend this trip.

He decided to be direct. “Jemma, is something bothering you?”

She looked up in surprise. “No, why?”

“You just seem...off.”

“I’m fine Fitz. Just feeling a little under the weather I suppose,” she said.

Fitz rushed over and put his hand on her forehead. “Are you running a fever?”

Jemma pulled his hand off. “I’m not ill. I’m just...not feeling right.” She looked up at Fitz’s face. “It’s...female problems?”

Fitz knew she was lying, but he decided to let it go for the time being. Partially because he didn’t want to accuse Jemma, and partially because Daisy and Daniel came into the room with their hands full of bags just then. Fitz took a last look at Jemma then went to help the other two unpack the food.

“We should watch a movie tonight,” Daisy said after dinner. “Just relax after the long drive.” Fitz and the other two murmured agreement to this. “Great!” She grabbed Daniel and pulled him down on the bed next to her. “Daniel’s going to be my movie buddy for the night.”

Fitz suspected Daisy was up to something, but he wasn’t sure what exactly it was. Either she was trying to make a move on Daniel (which wouldn’t be a surprise), or she was trying to push Jemma and him together (which...would also not be a surprise). Fitz couldn’t decide which option was better (or worse). 

“Mind if I join you then?” he asked Jemma.

She looked at him warily. “Sure.” She scooted over to make him room on the bed.

Daisy chose the movie, which turned out to be some scary slasher film. Fitz knew Jemma didn’t care for those types of movies.

“You can hide your head in my sleeve if you want,” he offered.

Jemma stiffened a hair. “No, I’ll be fine.”

It didn’t take long before Jemma took him up on his offer though. She grabbed his arm after about 10 minutes, then hid her face in his shoulder for some of the worst parts. Having her this close to him was...nice. By the end of the film Jemma was glued to his side, and Fitz decided he owed Daisy for setting it up this way, whether it was on purpose or not.

Daisy insisted on turning another movie on, a long boring one. Jemma didn’t move from where she was, and Fitz didn’t say anything. He liked having her there. Jemma and he had always been close, from the first moment they started talking about science in a school class. She was undoubtedly his best friend. The things Fitz were currently thinking were decidedly unfriendly though.

He turned his head just enough to see her face. She had fallen asleep, her face laying on his upper arm. She looked so peaceful. Looking at her face, Fitz came to a horrifying realization.

He was in love with his best friend.

Fitz thought he shouldn't be too surprised. If he was being honest with himself, it had been coming on for a long time. There was just no one else that he wanted to be around as much as her. Every time something good happened, he wanted to run and tell her. If something bad happened, she was the first person he went to as well. Good or bad, Jemma was the person he wanted by his side.

The problem was, Fitz didn’t know what to do about it now. Jemma had been acting awfully strange. Surely adding this to their relationship would complicate things. That’s not what he wanted.

So he decided to just ride it out. Once they were back in school and things were normal again, this would all pass. 

Maybe.

For now he decided to just enjoy having Jemma so close. He closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

When he woke up, Jemma was still curled up on his side, and he had a stiff neck from the position he had fallen asleep in. Daisy and Daniel were asleep in the other bed, facing each other but separate. Fitz was curious what had gone down over there.

He nudged Jemma gently with his shoulder. She raised her head.

“Hey there," he said.

“Fitz?” She looked confused.

“Yeah, you fell asleep on me. You looked so peaceful I just left you there.”

“Oh.” She sat up fully. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He smiled at her. She was even beautiful when she was just waking up. Fitz knew he was in big trouble.

He was saved by Daniel and Daisy waking up too. Fitz didn’t have time to think about anything as the foursome spent the day out exploring the area. They climbed the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and visited a local museum devoted to shipwrecks. Fitz was having a blast.

That night they decided to make a small fire in a fire pit on the beach. It was nice. Fitz stretched out in the sand and felt himself relax. He wished he could stay here forever. He had the ocean and his favorite people. Life was pretty good.

They decided to make s’mores since they had a fire going, and Fitz and Daisy argued about the optimal burn ratio for the marshmallows. Daisy thought you needed to light the thing on fire, while Fitz merely liked it toasty. He looked at Jemma, who was currently laughing at them. The fire reflected in her eyes, and it took Fitz’s breath away. He knew then that these feelings weren’t going away. This was the real deal.

Daisy decided she wanted to go see the ocean in the moonlight and insisted that Daniel go with her, so Fitz and Jemma were left all alone. They sat in awkward silence for a few moments before Fitz decided to speak.

“Want another marshmallow?”

“Um, sure,” Jemma said.

He walked around the fire and brought her the supplies. They sat in silence while she toasted her marshmallow, then he helped her put the marshmallow on a graham cracker and stack a chocolate piece on it. She took a bite, and the melted marshmallow made a stringy mess as she pulled it away.

“Oh, dear, do I have marshmallow all over my face?” she asked Fitz.

He looked at her. “No, just a little on your upper lip.” He reached over to wipe it off then stopped. They were so close together, it made it hard to think.

“Fitz…”

He leaned forward and gently kissed her. She tasted like burnt sugar. He pulled back and looked at her face, hoping he didn’t see fear or disgust. She was smiling.

“I’ve been hoping you’d do that,” she said, reaching over to pull him close again.

After a few moments he realized what she had said and pulled away. 

“Wait, what? You’ve been wanting me to do that?”

Jemma just nodded.

“For how long?” he sputtered.

“I don’t know. Since Disney at least.”

“Wait, is that why you’ve been acting so weird?”

“I was afraid to say anything!” Jemma said. “I worried about ruining our friendship.”

“I worried about the same thing,” he told her.

Jemma tilted her head. “So what made you change your mind?”

“I just…” Fitz wasn’t sure what to say. “You were so beautiful and we were so close and I guess I just...forgot about being worried.”

“I guess that’s ok.” Jemma paused and looked down. “So what do we do now?”

Fitz shook his head. “I don’t know. All I know is I don’t want to be without you. Ever. But for now, I think I’d like to kiss you again.”

Jemma smiled at him. “That sounds perfect.”

Fitz didn’t know how long they had been kissing before he heard a cheer from behind him. 

“Finally!” 

Daisy and Daniel had returned from their walk. 

“See Jemma,” Daisy continued, “I told you I could make it happen.”

“Yes, but you didn’t actually do anything,” Jemma countered.

“Wait, you were trying to make something happen?” Fitz asked Daisy.

“Ummm, yeah, ever since she told me she was in love with you.”

Fitz turned to Jemma. “When was that?”

Jemma’s eyes widened. “Ummm, after you saved me from the Splash Mountain animatronics?”

“That’s what did it for you?” Fitz laughed.

“Well that’s better than marshmallow on my lips!”

“Should we give you two some more space?” Daniel asked.

“No!” they both said in unison. They looked at each other and laughed.

Fitz took Jemma’s hand firmly in his. “We’ll have plenty of time together. For now, we’re going to enjoy the rest of this trip with you guys.”

Jemma nodded confirmation.

That night Jemma took her place on the bed next to Fitz and curled up next to him to sleep. Fitz looked at her and couldn’t help thinking he was the luckiest man in the world.


	3. Daniel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel had moved to Boston with plans to make the best of his three years there then move on with life. That was until he met Daisy Johnson. Three years later he's on a road trip with 3 friends and a head full of confusing feelings.

When Daniel had been given the chance to go to law school in Boston, he had jumped at it. He figured it would be fun to live there temporarily. It was a city full of history and interesting things to do. He could live there for a few years, get his degree, and move on to another exciting adventure. What he hadn’t counted on was making some very permanent relationships.

It had all started when he walked into the student bookstore needing help with his laptop. It was on the fritz, and nothing he had googled had helped it. He had heard good things about the students employed to give technical help, so he thought he’d try there.

That was where he had met Daisy Johnson, and his life had completely changed.

He wasn’t sure why she had been so friendly to him. To this day she still wouldn’t answer that question. At any rate she had fixed his laptop and told him she was going to fix his life as well, which he didn’t realize needed fixing. But something in those brown eyes convinced him to go along with whatever she said.

Daisy had introduced him to Jemma and Fitz, and immediately he had a group of friends. Even better, he found that he liked them. They were both intelligent and kind and fun to be around. And so Daniel stopped thinking of this as a temporary situation, and instead enjoyed his time with his friends.

Especially Daisy.

If he was being completely honest with himself, he knew he was a little in love with her. There was just something about her that pulled him in completely. He never knew what would happen when he was with her; she was a wildcard. But he always knew it would be fun. So he found himself spending more and more time with her until they had become virtually inseparable.

Daniel had tried to ignore the upcoming change in his life. He had done well in law school and had even landed a very competitive clerkship in Washington, DC. It was everything he could have dreamed. Except that it meant leaving Daisy. 

More than that, Fitz and Jemma would be leaving to go to grad school together, so Daisy would be all alone. Naturally Daniel had looked up the travel time from DC to Boston. It wasn’t a trip he could make all the time, but he could do it occasionally. It wouldn’t be the same, but it would be better than nothing. He only hoped Daisy agreed.

He wasn’t sure how Daisy felt about him. He sometimes felt sure that she must feel that same pull towards him that he felt to her, but at other times he was convinced that this clearly was not the case. Daniel had decided that he was going to say something to her. Be direct. Be bold.

He just needed the right moment.

When Daisy and Jemma had presented this trip to him, he had thought it sounded...long. Like usual though, it didn’t take Daisy long to convince him that this was happening whether he liked it or not. So he decided the best thing to do was commit himself to having fun.

Surprisingly he had been having fun. Long hours in the car were bearable just because Daisy was there. When they were riding in the car, they spent the hours talking and laughing. Daniel had all of Daisy’s attention, and he relished it. On the way to Florida, she had claimed his shoulder as a pillow as he read, and he discovered that he had read the same page about 20 times because of this.

Disney World seemed fun, but it was never his dream vacation. Being pulled from place to place by Daisy though was definitely his dream. He probably spent more time looking at her than he did looking at his surroundings. 

When Daisy asked him about his leg in an off-hand way, he was sure she was up to something. However, he was going to take any chance he could get to spend more time with her, so he told her his leg was achy. Actually, that statement was true. Prosthetics had come a long way since his first one, but he really wasn’t used to walking around this much. 

They went to a nearby place to have Dole whip, and talked and ate while he rested his leg. 

“So why did you want to get away from Fitz and Simmons?” he asked her.

“What? Why would you say that??”

He laughed. “I saw it in your face. You were clearly scheming.”

“Or I was just concerned for my friend’s well-being,” she said.

“I suppose it’s possible.” He looked at her. “But it’s also possible you were concerned for your friend _and_ scheming something.”

She stared back at him then rolled her eyes. “Ok, fine. I’m trying to give them some alone time.”

“Because….?”

“Because they are obviously in love with each other and just refuse to admit it,” Daisy said.

This was an uncomfortable line of thinking for Daniel to follow. Daisy wasn’t wrong though. Fitz and Simmons were very much in love. But if Daisy could see that so easily, could she also read his feelings for her? He had a feeling he did not do a terrific job of hiding it.

“Shouldn’t we just leave them to figure it out on their own?”

Daisy looked at him incredulously. “Umm, no. When two people have feelings for each other, they should be together!”

Daniel felt his heart flutter in a strange way. “Always?”

“Well, not always.” Daisy looked thoughtful. “Sometimes it’s a bad idea. Like if the guy is a serial killer or something. But that’s not the case here. They are best friends and perfect for each other...if they could only see it.”

“See it. Right.” He very carefully steered the conversation away from the topic he wasn’t ready to address just yet.

Fitz and Simmons came back with a wild story about their boat on the ride sinking, and soon after Jemma pulled Daisy off to the restroom. When they came back Daisy was beaming and gave a big thumbs up to Daniel behind her friend’s back. He supposed he would figure out what that meant eventually.

They spent two days in the Harry Potter park, and again Daisy hauled him from place to place. He was so thrilled that she wanted to share something she enjoyed so much with him. Her delight at the wand store was a prime example. She made a production of the entire thing, and they had laughed heartily at the whole thing. Having that look of happiness turned on him when he picked a wand for her was the best thing he could have imagined.

He was in for the shock of his life however when they went to North Carolina. 

After they checked in, Daisy asked him to go with her to the store. Daniel readily agreed, and soon he found himself going down aisle after aisle with her. It felt very domestic, and Daniel liked it. Nothing prepared him for Daisy’s next statement though.

“Daniel, I need to ask a huge favor of you.”

“Ok?” Daniel was not sure where this was going.

“Do you think you could sleep with me?”

Daniel’s jaw dropped. He worked his mouth for a few moments, but nothing came out. 

Daisy looked at him and laughed. “Not like that. Just like, in the same bed. Jemma finally realized she has feelings for Fitz, so I said I would help her out.”

“By...forcing them to sleep in the same bed?”

“No.” She made a face. “Well, actually, yes. But like in a cute way. We’ll turn on a scary movie, and then just wait for Jemma to get close to him. Which she’ll do when she inevitably gets scared.”

“I don’t know about this Daisy…” Daniel was pretty sure this was a bad idea, mostly for him.

But Daisy grabbed his arm and said, “Please??” He could do nothing but nod in response.

Daisy’s plan apparently worked, because before the night was over Fitz and Simmons had fallen asleep cuddled next to each other, heads together. Daisy almost squealed in excitement when Daniel pointed this out to her. When they got ready to sleep, they laid facing each other, mostly for increased ease of whispering about their friends.

“So now will you acknowledge that I am a master at getting people together?”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t realize that was something you were aspiring to.”

Daisy shrugged. “We all have our talents. I’m good with computers and people.”

“Are you though?”

“Well I got you, didn’t I?” Daisy said.

Daniel could feel his heart thumping. “Did you?”

Daisy was watching his face carefully. She opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again. Finally she said, “We should get some sleep.”

“Yes, we should,” he agreed.

That was the worst night of sleep he’d ever had. Having Daisy so close was...distracting. Things didn’t improve for Daniel though. Still trying to get Fitz and Jemma to say something to each other, she pulled him off for a moonlit stroll down the beach. Talk about romantic. It took everything in Daniel’s being to keep from trying to kiss her. Oh how he wanted to though.

Daisy’s plan seemed to have worked. Fitz and Jemma had finally confessed their feelings to each other, and Daisy insisted that they keep their current sleeping arrangements. The upside to this was that apparently Daisy was unusually unguarded when chatting before going to sleep. He learned a lot about her in those late night talks. Daniel thought that he could get used to this.

Regardless of Fitz and Jemma’s new status, they spent the next few days as a group, doing things together. They visited as many touristy places as possible, taking as many pictures as possible. He could almost see a desperation in Daisy’s actions, as if she were trying to ensure that she captured every last moment they had together. He couldn’t blame her. If memories and pictures were all he was going to have, he was happy to have plenty of them.

After dinner that night, they went back to the beach for a last fire lit night. If he had been a bit reluctant to take this trip before, now Daniel didn’t want it to be over. The next day they would be driving back to Boston, where they would pack his stuff and then drive to DC. And then all this would be all over. Jemma and Fitz were moving across the country, and Daisy was staying back in Boston to work. 

Jemma and Fitz, clearly feeling the press of time as much as he was, decided to take a nighttime stroll, just the two of them. Which left Daniel sitting next to Daisy in what was basically the most romantic setting he could imagine.

Daniel was completely miserable.

Daisy was uncharacteristically quiet. She had wrapped her arms around her bent legs, resting her chin on her knees and was staring out at the waves.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked her.

She sat still for a while longer, then she said, “Everything’s about to change, isn’t it?”

He gave a small laugh. “I see your thoughts are echoing mine tonight.”

“Yeah? And here I thought I was just being like super emo about all of it.”

“I think it’s natural to feel some trepidation about what’s going to happen,” he said. “I know I do. But who knows? Maybe you’ll meet even better people than some random law student who needed help with his laptop.”

“That’s not possible,” Daisy said with a laugh. “You’re the best person I know.”

“I find that hard to believe.” He saw Daisy give a small shiver. “Are you cold?”

She just shrugged. Daniel wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and she immediately molded herself to his side. He really had been just trying to share his warmth, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t seriously enjoying sitting like this. 

It was silly really. He had been fine 3 years ago. He had a good life. Sure, having three friends was fun, but he was a friendly person. He could make new ones.

He knew there would never be another Daisy though.

He knew he should tell her. Say what he was thinking. If she didn’t like it then, well, he was moving away anyway. It would be a nice clean break. 

When he looked at her face though, he knew he couldn’t do it. Not right now. She was coming to help move him to DC, and he wanted to have those last few days with her without any complicated feelings hanging over their heads.

Maybe he was a coward. Or maybe he was just selfish. Either way, he wasn’t moving from this spot until he absolutely had to.


	4. Daisy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy finally had a life that she loved, but now she was realizing things were about to change drastically. Can she deal with all her conflicting emotions?

Daisy was good at fixing things. No, she was great at it. And she enjoyed it. It was why she was good with tech and great with people.

The first time she had met Leo Fitz was in a coding class, and she could just tell he was a lost puppy needing help. He told her he had moved from the UK with a friend he had convinced to come over with him. 

When Daisy met Jemma, she knew they would be instant friends. They just clicked. In a matter of days, Daisy, Jemma, and Fitz had become an inseparable crew. Daisy had never known she could have so much fun. Until she was adopted as a teen, Daisy had never felt like she had a place she belonged. People she could trust. Then she had lucked out with an after-school program where she met Melinda May. 

May was teaching her martial arts and had become a mentor of sorts to Daisy. Someone who would listen to all of Daisy’s problems. All her hopes and dreams. When May had asked Daisy if she wanted to have dinner at May’s house, Daisy had jumped at the chance. A short while later, May and her husband Phil were officially Daisy’s foster parents, and Daisy finally had a stable home.

So when Daisy met Jemma and Fitz, she felt good. She had a home. She had parents who loved her. And now she had the very best friends a girl could have. Daisy knew her life was complete.

At least, it was complete until she met Daniel Sousa. She had a part-time job doing tech support in the student bookstore. She mostly helped older faculty, and she got a discount on her books. It was win-win. Daniel had come in there with the saddest looking laptop she had ever seen, asking if there was anything they could do for it. Truthfully, Daisy should have told him to just buy a new one, but something in those brown eyes convinced her she could fix it. So she did.

Normally, she also would have sent the person off with a promise to call about their stuff, but for some reason she wanted to keep Daniel around. So she talked to him while she did her thing. Conversation was easy with him, in a way that she wasn’t used to. When she found out he had just moved to Boston, she knew she had her in. Come have lunch with me and my friends. Easy way to meet new people.

She was much happier when he said yes than she probably ought to have been. And he fit into their little group perfectly. 

So Daisy spent three years having the time of her life with the best friends a girl could have and completely ignoring the fact that this would all change. Because she knew it would. She just hoped if she put it off long enough, she wouldn’t really have to deal with it.

Of course, that didn’t happen, and Daisy was faced with having to say goodbye to her favorite people.

She hated it.

When her parents had come up with the idea to give them a trip as a joint graduation gift, Daisy had jumped at the chance. Spending that much time with her friends? Talk about living the dream.

Everyone else’s parents had chipped in as well, which allowed the foursome to plan the most epic road trip of all time. Jemma of course was down for anything Daisy planned, and Daisy knew that Fitz would go along with whatever Jemma wanted. Those two were so in love with each other that it sometimes pained Daisy to watch them tiptoe around their feelings. 

Daniel was a harder sell, as she knew he would be. He had a thousand very sensible reasons why he shouldn’t go, but Daisy had one very important reason why he should.

“This may be our last chance to do something like this. I don’t want to do it without you.”

She immediately saw his face soften, and she knew she had won. 

So off they went to enjoy this amazing time together, and it was everything Daisy had dreamed. Even Daniel looked like he was having a good time. It was made even better when Jemma admitted her feelings for Fitz. Daisy wasn’t going to interfere with two friends who just wanted to be friends, but two friends who are confirmed pining for each other? Absolutely.

Daisy’s number one plan was forced proximity. Fitz had to notice how Jemma was mooning about if they had alone time together, right? So Daisy pulled Daniel from place to place, keeping him firmly by her side to give Fitz and Jemma time together. It may have been mostly selfish, but the truth was that Daisy enjoyed having Daniel all to herself. He balanced her in a way that no one else did. He managed to be calm, cool, playful, and supportive all at once. It was kind of the best.

Just giving them time alone in the parks didn’t seem to be enough though. Daisy thought about it a lot while driving to North Carolina, and she came up with a super plan. She just needed Daniel’s cooperation.

“Daniel, I need to ask a huge favor of you.”

“Ok?” He looked very confused.

“Do you think you could sleep with me?” As soon as she said, she heard it. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized what it sounded like.

For his part, Daniel looked just as shocked. He opened his mouth a couple times, but nothing came out. 

Daisy decided the best thing to do was play it off. She laughed and said, “Not like that. Just like, in the same bed. Jemma finally realized she has feelings for Fitz, so I said I would help her out.”

He still looked to be in a state of shock. “By...forcing them to sleep in the same bed?”

“No.” Daisy made a face at him, but then thought better of it. “Well, actually, yes. But like in a cute way. We’ll turn on a scary movie and then just wait for Jemma to get close to him. Which she’ll do when she inevitably gets scared.”

“I don’t know about this Daisy…” 

It was time to go in for the kill. She grabbed his arm and said, “Please??” She knew he was going to give in before he even nodded his assent.

Daisy’s plan worked out splendidly. By the end of the night Jemma and Fitz were cuddled together fast asleep. Daisy could have cried of happiness. They were adorable.

Daniel and she both lay down, facing each other. Daisy really wanted some recognition for what she had done, but Daniel didn’t seem convinced.

“We all have our talents. I’m good with computers and people,” she told him with a shrug.

Daniel made a face at her. “Are you though?”

“Well I got you, didn’t I?” For the second time in a day, she realized what she had said right as she said it. What was wrong with her?

“Did you?”

Something in the way he said that caught her attention. He was looking at her very seriously, and Daisy could feel a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t sure what was going on, and then it hit her: she was going to have to say goodbye to Daniel Sousa someday.

She probably should have thought of it before. They were friends, probably best friends. But he wasn’t hers. Not in that way. And if he wasn’t hers, then he would be someone else’s eventually. That would mean the end of...all of this.

It wasn’t sitting well with Daisy. At all.

Having Daniel so close wasn’t helping matters at all; in fact it was probably muddling Daisy’s mind more. So she settled on the obvious answer for now: sleep.

Daisy was able to distract herself from the Daniel situation by concentrating her energy on Fitz and Jemma. Even though she talked a big game, Daisy was rather shocked to discover that her plan worked. Daisy and Daniel came back one night to find Fitz and Jemma kissing by the fireside. She could have cried from joy, but she settled for a cheer instead. 

The next few days, Daisy made the most of the time with her friends. The last night though, Fitz and Jemma decided to wander off together. Daisy repressed a roll of her eyes. They were probably going to make out somewhere, not that Daisy could blame them. But that left her here alone with Daniel and a head full of thoughts she’d been trying to repress.

Daisy pulled her legs in and wrapped her arms around them. She usually found the sound of the ocean soothing, but not tonight. Daniel asked what she was thinking, and she didn’t know what to tell him. How do you tell your best friend that you don’t want him to leave? Don't want him to have a life.

The ocean breeze was quite cool, and Daisy shivered. Daniel wrapped an arm around her, and Daisy allowed herself to lean into him. She had tried to just live in the moment and enjoy what she had. Anyone with her past knew that if you found happiness you had to grab it while you could. But if she could freeze any moment in her life, it would be this one. With this man.

Unfortunately it couldn’t last, and the next day they were up early to drive back to Boston. Daisy and Daniel were splitting the driving, so it was easy to just focus on that and not everything else that was confusing her. They all decided to crash at Daniel’s place when they got back so they could help him pack. Keeping busy was good. 

Well, that’s what Daisy thought. Helping Daniel pack his things turned out to be harder on her than she thought it would be. She had been over to his place so many times over the past three years, and now she was putting all these memories in boxes. 

Daniel had kept a lot of random stuff from their time together: movie ticket stubs, take-out menus, pictures from a photo booth or two. She wasn’t sure if he was sentimental or just a pack rat, so she just threw it all in a box. Daniel could deal with it later. Then she ran across something that surprised her.

It was the work order stub from the first time they had met. Daisy saw her own handwriting sprawled across it. She had written “Cute Law Student” in the name slot and identified the problem as “janky old laptop.” Daisy laughed. 

“Daniel,” she called to him, “why did you keep this?”

He walked into the room to see. “Oh, you know, I always keep important stuff.”

“This was important to you?”

“Well yeah, if the computer broke again I wanted proof that it had been worked on,” he said.

Daisy nodded. “Right.”

Daniel looked like he wanted to say something, but he just shrugged and walked out again.

They drove down to DC a couple days later with all of Daniel’s stuff in a small moving truck. Daisy and Daniel drove the truck, while Jemma and Fitz followed in a car behind them. Daisy could feel some tension in the air, but when she asked Daniel just said there was nothing wrong.

Daniel’s new apartment was small and outside the town proper. It was the best he could afford though, and Daisy was sure it would make a good home.

Jemma pulled Daisy aside and asked if it would be okay if Fitz went on his first official date with Jemma. What else could Daisy say but yes?

Daisy and Daniel decided to watch a movie while the other two were out, but sitting on the couch next to him felt so awkward. Daisy felt like she was going to explode if she didn’t say something.

Before she could say something though, Daniel spoke up. “Daisy, I need to talk to you about something.”

Daisy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Ok, sure.”

He looked her in the eyes. “I’ve been avoiding telling you this, because, well, I’m about to be here and you’re still going to be in Boston...but I...care for you. As more than just a friend. Meeting you in that bookstore was probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And I know that we’re going to always be friends, but things won’t be the same, and I just couldn’t let you go back without telling you how I felt.”

Daisy felt a thousand things at once. She wasn’t shocked, not really. She had kind of always known. From the start he had become the person she could rely on fully. The one person she could always be herself with, good and bad. Hearing this made her happy.

It also made her mad, and that was an easier emotion to latch on to, so she ran with it. 

“Are you serious right now? You wait until I’m going to be leaving you to tell me this?”

She saw that tightening of the lips that indicated Daniel was bothered. “What would you have done if I had told you earlier? Would it have changed anything? I’m still moving, and you’re still not.”

Now Daisy was outraged. “Yes, yes it would have. We could have had some time together instead of this. Something is better than nothing.”

Daniel started to say something, then stopped. “Wait, so you want something?”

“I...:” Daisy felt tears filling her eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe. Probably. I mean I guess now we’ll never know, will we?”

Daniel closed his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I was trying to make things better, and I guess I just made them worse.”

“No, no, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m lucky to have someone like you. Can we just watch the movie and make the most of what time we have?”

“Sure,” Daniel said, nodding. “Whatever you need.”

Daisy sat close to Daniel and laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m really going to miss this.”

Daniel put his arm around her shoulder in a sort of hug. “Me too.” He gave a small sigh. “Me too. But who knows, maybe this is the start of something new for you. Something better.”

“I don’t want something new.”

He tightened his arm around her. “I know.”

Daisy closed her eyes. She supposed that her life had been stable for so long, it was bound to end sometime. She just didn’t think it would hurt this much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will you trust me if I say the last chapter will be worth it? Heh...at least I hope so...


	5. New Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daisy, Fitz, Jemma, and Daniel start their new lives, but Jemma has one thing left that she needs to fix...

The next morning, Daisy, Fitz and Jemma were driving back to Boston. Fitz and Jemma gave Daniel hugs and made him promise to text them regularly. Daisy hadn’t had much time to talk to Jemma the night before, but she had given her a quick rundown. Jemma pulled Fitz to the car to give Daisy some time alone with Daniel.

Daniel faced her and took her hands in his. “Thank you.”

This was not what Daisy had expected. “For what?”

“For being here for me for the past...three years or so.”

“What else was I going to do?” Daisy tried to laugh but sniffled instead. “You needed me.”

“Yes, I do need you.” Daniel gave her that look that she knew very well by now, so full of love and trust, and she realized the full truth. She loved him. And she was going home without him.

“I should probably go, they’re waiting for me in the car.”

He nodded. “You probably should.”

Daisy threw her arms around his neck, trying to put everything she had into this hug.

“I love you,” she whispered, then she turned around and ran to the car. She didn’t look back.

She texted him to let him know when she got home, and he responded with a friendly message. Daisy supposed she was going to have to get used to this new reality and enjoy it for what it was.

* * *

The next few days were busy for Fitz, what with trying to pack up his life into two suitcases to take to a different part of the US, one he had never seen. He probably would have been in panic mode if not for Jemma. She was always there with a smile of encouragement.

Their new status hadn’t changed much between them; it just added some interesting new dimensions. Fitz found that he didn’t have to hold back anymore with her, good or bad. It was amazing.

Daisy drove them to the airport. Fitz really felt for her. She was going to be here all alone, poor thing. He kind of wished he could pack her up and take her with them.

When they were ready to go through to their gate, it was time for their farewells. Daisy gave Fitz a hug. “I’m going to miss you Fitzy. Take care of our Jemma.”

Fitz nodded. “I will. You take care of yourself too. Don’t pine after Daniel too much, yeah?”

“Is it that obvious?” Daisy said with a slight cringe.

“Jemma may have clued me in,” he said.

“Figures.” Daisy then turned to Jemma. “Your turn.”

Jemma hugged Daisy tightly. “Oh Daisy, I’m going to miss you.”

“You guys should come for the holidays or something. You’re always welcome at my place.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.” She stepped back from Daisy. “I’ll call you later, ok?”

Daisy nodded. “Bye.”

Jemma waved at Daisy, and Fitz took her hand to walk to the security checkpoint. Some things may be changing, but one thing would always remain the same: Fitz and Jemma, facing the world together.

* * *

The flight to California was super smooth, and Jemma and Fitz made it to their hotel for the night in one piece. They were going to be living in the same apartment complex, but after that night Jemma wondered if one apartment was going to be terribly neglected.

Well, one apartment would be neglected if Jemma had her say.

Jemma made sure to chat with Daisy the next day. Daisy said her apartment was very quiet, but she would get used to it. This was her life now, and all the tears in the world couldn’t change that.

Jemma was positive that Daisy had still cried.

She knew that Daisy had arranged things so that Fitz could spend alone with her, so she figured that turn about was fair play and she called Daniel.

“Jemma, hi! How’s California?”

“As bright and sunny as the brochures said. Listen Daniel, I don’t have a lot of time, but I need to talk to you about Daisy.”

There was almost complete silence on the other end. “What about Daisy?” he asked warily.

“Well, I hardly think I need to spell it out for you,” Jemma said. “You love her, she loves you, and you’re both being ridiculous.”

“This coming from the girl who was in denial about being in love with her best friend for how many years?” Daniel paused. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

“No, it was fair. But it doesn’t change your situation.”

Another long pause. “Jemma, I don’t know what to do. We live in two entirely different cities. I’m sure she’ll get over it before long and make a new set of friends and...fall in love again. I mean who wouldn’t want to be with her?”

Jemma went in for the kill. “She may get over you, but will you get over her?”

She heard a small laugh. “Never.”

“Exactly.” Jemma was smiling now. “So put that fine brain of yours to good use, think of a workable plan, and do something about it.”

She heard a huff of breath over the line. “Will do.”

* * *

After the first few days alone, it started to get easier. Daniel found a new routine. His clerkship started on Monday. In the meantime he was learning to live alone. Again. He had gotten so used to having people readily there for him that it was a massive change to suddenly not have them.

He carved out time each day to chat with Fitz and Jemma, just to see how they were doing. Even better, he video called Daisy each night, filling her in on the events of the day. She would smile as he pattered on about everything and nothing, and Daniel couldn’t get over how beautiful she was.

After Jemma called him though, something had snapped in him. Jemma was right. He did love Daisy. Why should he just sit around and wait for life to align just to make things easy? Why couldn’t they establish a new routine? It wouldn’t be easy by any means, but wasn’t it better than a life without her?

Friday morning he had to get some paperwork and training done, but he was out by 1pm. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he was sure he wanted to see Daisy. He bought a train ticket to Boston and mentally crossed his fingers.

It was 8:30pm when he found himself ringing Daisy’s doorbell. He was having second thoughts when Daisy opened the door.

She stared at him. “Daniel, what are you doing here?”

“I needed to see you. I needed to talk to you. To tell you…” He stopped, unsure of what to say.

“Tell me what?”

“Daisy, I love you, so much. And I know that this is probably a mistake but I just…” 

He couldn’t say anything else because Daisy’s lips were now firmly planted on his. After taking a moment to recover from his shock, he returned her kiss enthusiastically. Daniel completely forgot about everything else until they heard a leering whistle from behind them. 

Daisy just pulled him into her apartment, shut the door, and continued where they left off.

* * *

Daisy heard the doorbell ring. “I’ll get that,” she said. She opened the door to see Jemma and Fitz, standing in the lightly falling snow. 

“Hey guys, Happy New Year’s Eve!” She grabbed them both into a giant hug. “How was the trip?”

“It was good,” Jemma said.

“I forgot how frigid it can get here though,” Fitz said with a faux shiver.

Daisy just rolled her eyes. “California boy now, are we? Well, come in.”

“Hi Daniel,” Jemma said to the man on the couch. 

“Hey you two.” Daniel stood up to hug them both. “Long time no see.”

“Jemma, do you want to...put some stuff...in the room?” Daisy was pretty sure everyone saw through that, but she didn’t care. She really wanted some time to talk to Jemma. 

“Um, sure.” Jemma was suppressing laughter. 

“Be good you two,” Daniel called. Daisy made a face at him.

She shut the door behind them and hugged Jemma again. “It is so good to see you. Ugh, I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” Jemma pulled away to look at Daisy. “So, how is everything? You look good.”

“We talk like every day Jemma,” Daisy said. “You know how everything is.”

“Every day if it’s not the weekend,” Jemma said slyly. “You seem to be busy then.”

“Well I spend half my weekends traveling, so yeah I’m pretty busy.”

Jemma gave her that patented sympathetic Jemma face. “How is that?”

“I mean, it sucks, but it’s preferable to just like never seeing Daniel. We split weekends so that I go down there one weekend then he comes up here the next, and I feel like I should get frequent train rider miles or something. Luckily he got time off for the holiday so he’s been here for a solid week. It’s been amazing.”

“Oh Daisy, I’m so happy for you.”

“I am too,” Daisy said. “So how are things with you and Fitz?”

Jemma couldn’t keep from smiling. “Things are great. Now we’re just like best friends who also like to make out. Best of both worlds.” 

“Living the dream,” Daisy agreed.

“In fact, I’m thinking that maybe we’ll just drop one of our apartment’s once the lease is up. We tend to spend all our time together, so it just makes sense. You know, save money and all that.”

“Jemma, this is big! Congrats!” Daisy gave her another hug.

“It will be good,” Jemma said. “New, but good.”

Daisy nodded. “New can be good. Speaking of new, I’ve got some news too.”

“Oh?” 

“Sooo, this traveling back and forth is getting super old, and anyway Daniel found a federal judge here who was willing to let him clerk. Said he had heard tons of good stuff about Daniel and was willing to let him transfer over because he just happened to have an opening here, so yeah. He’s coming back here. For me.” Daisy could feel tears pricking her eyes. 

Jemma’s jaw had dropped. “Daisy, that’s amazing.”

“I know, right? I think it’s the single nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Jemma was beaming. “I know I said it before, but I’m just so happy for you two.”

“Yeah, well, he told me that this was my Christmas gift because he has to save money to move again, so I guess I got a whole adult for Christmas.”

“Sounds nice,” Jemma said with raised eyebrows. “Did he tell you under the mistletoe by the light of a Christmas tree?”

“This isn’t a Hallmark movie Jemma, so no,” Daisy said. “I mean, I don’t even know where to get mistletoe anyway.” 

“Well, maybe next year.” Jemma hooked her elbow through Daisy’s. “I guess we should go check on our boys.”

They went out to where Fitz and Daniel were putting some food out, ready to celebrate the New Year together. Daisy definitely missed this. The camaraderie of all four of them together. Even with the adjusted relationships, their overall dynamic hadn’t changed much. 

The four of them counted down to midnight, toasting to the new year. Daniel leaned down to give Daisy a kiss.

“Happy New Year,” he told her.

“Happy New Year,” she said, giving him another kiss for good measure.

She offered a kiss to Jemma and Fitz as well to welcome in the year. Daisy knew that the year would offer a lot of changes, new things to see and do. She had learned though, that wasn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes something new became something even better than before. 

Daisy couldn’t wait to see what the new year had in store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when we used to get excited about new years? Never again.
> 
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!! What started out as a simple road trip au turned into this, but it's actually been a delightful experience. Thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos, and left comments. I love every single one of you. Drop me a line on tumblr if you have prompts, questions, or just want to scream about life in general.


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